Maus by Spiegelman Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Maus by Spiegelman - Essay ExampleIn Spiegelmans novel, Vladek is an attractive and resourceful young man living in Poland. He is a favored businessman married to the rich and talented Anja. According to Wood, Vladek and Anja had a abbreviated courtship and were married in 1937, on Valentines Day (82) and had a son named Richieu. With the help of Anjas father, Vladek is successful in his business pursuits until the German invasion of Poland changes the fate of Vladek and his family. As a reservist, Vladek is determined to fight for Poland against the German intrusion, albeit it is against his fathers wishes. As an inexperienced soldier, Vladek is captured in 1939 and taken to a Prisoners Of War (POW) camp together with other fighters. Spiegelman writes that the Germans claimed that the Jews are responsible for the wars in the camp (33). It is for this reason that they are separated from otherS and made to do more work. I think this is just an act of religious persecution, conside ring there were other people fleck for Poland and not just the Jews. When an opportunity comes up for any volunteers to replace German workers, Vladek takes up the chance. Through grievous work and perseverance, Vladek is released to reunite with his family. Vladek is living with his in-laws in an extended family nevertheless, life is no longer the same. Weine states that soon after, in 1943, Poland is divided into two sections and Jews are taken to Auschwitz and protrudeed (29). Seeing the gravity of the situation, Vladek and Anja give Richieu to Anjas sister so that she stay with him and her children at Zawierci. However, fearing that she and the children will be taken to Auschwitz, Anjas sister kills herself and the children, including Richieu. One could understand that everyone in Poland was worried about their future and safety of their loved ones. However, the decision by Anjas sister to kill herself and the children is not a solution for me. She could have at least waited and by chance she and the children could have survived the war. Vladek and Anja are conceal in a ghetto waiting for the situation to calm down. According to Spiegelman, one of Vladeks and Anjas friends escapes to Hungary and writes them a letter telling them that Hungary is safe (125). Together, Vladek and Anja are on their way to safety in Hungary but are both captured and taken to Auschwitz where they are separated. Weine writes that at Auschwitz, Vladek works very hard as a tinsmith, a shoemaker, and a black worker earning enough to feed himself (27). As the war comes to an end, Vladek is set free and he goes back to his home place in Sosnowiec, where he reunites with Anja who had been released earlier. It is a happy and miraculous reunion for Vladek and Anja, considering that everyone they knew had been killed in the war. To me, it sounds sort of fictional for the two to be the only ones to survive the war in their family. In the novel, it is likely that Vladek and Spiegelman do not have a good relationship. According to Wood, Spiegelman feels guilty of living a pause life than his parents (79). The relationship between Vladek and Spiegelman has deteriorated since Anja took her own life. Anja committed suicide after the war, primarily because she had lost Richieu. Spiegelman is dotty with his father for burning Anjas dairies about the war, after her suicide. In my opinion, Vladek is not to blame for burning the diaries maybe he just needed closure and did not want anything that reminded him of how Anja had given up on them. At the time